Euronav brings ammonia powered VLCCs into its fleet expansion moves
Written by Nick Blenkey
Alexander Saverys, Euronav’s and CMB’s CEO: “We are pleased to announce another significant milestone for Euronav.”
With 24 of its VLCCs being transferred to John Fredriksen’s Frontline as part of a deal that resolved a long-running merger battle, Euronav NV (NYSE: EURN) has been rebuilding its fleet with a series of newbuilding orders that began in August when it announced an agreement purchase one VLCC newbuild from an undisclosed yard at a price of $112.2 million that included an option for a second. It exercised that option on October 12, when it looks to have taken an option on a third.
Yesterday, it emerged that the shipyard involved in the VLCC orders is China’s Qingdao Behei, that Euronav has ordered a third vessel in the series from the CSSC member yard and that the trio will be dual-fuel ammonia ready.
“Euronav now has three VLCC’s on order at Qingdao Beihai following the ordering of two VLCC’s earlier in the year,” said the company. “The purchase price of the third ship is identical to the previous two. The vessel is expected to be delivered in Q4 2026 and will be ready to be powered by a dual-fuel diesel-ammonia engine.”
Additionally, Euronav disclosed that it has concluded two newbuilding ice classed Suezmax orders at Daehan Shipbuilding. These two new ships have been long term time chartered to Valero. Delivery of these vessels is expected in April/May 2026 when each of the time charter contracts will begin.
“We are very happy to extend our series of ammonia powered VLCCs at Qingdao Beihai,” said CEO Alexander Saverys. “We now have three state-of-the-art VLCCs on order that are attractively priced and will deliver within 2026. We are also delighted to extend our relationship with our long-standing customer Valero with an order of two new Suezmaxes that will enter long term time charters. These two transactions reflect the strength of the Euronav position in the tanker market and the rapid application of our new strategy.”
The Saverys family’s CMB emerged from the long running battle for control of Euronav with 49.05% of Euronav’s shares and it’s interesting that the shipyard building the ammonia powered VLCCs is Qingdao Beihai. That is the yard that is building a newly announced series of 210,000 dwt ammonia-fueled bulkers to be delivered through 2025 and 2026 to CMB Group member Bocimar.
